I wasn’t born a musical prodigy. Nothing about music came easily to me at first. I struggled with pitch, rhythm, coordination, and confidence. I practiced hard, cared deeply, and still often felt behind. But I also felt a persistent need to express myself through music, so I stayed with it. I studied. I asked questions. I learned from remarkable teachers. Over time, the work began to compound.

 

Those early struggles shaped everything about how I teach.

 

Because I didn’t learn quickly or effortlessly, I became deeply interested in how learning actually happens. I noticed early on that many musicians weren’t failing because they lacked discipline or talent. They were failing because the information wasn’t being presented in a way that matched how their minds and bodies processed it. Music education often rewards those who intuitively “get it” and quietly leaves others to assume something is wrong with them.

 

That assumption is what I’ve spent my career pushing against.

 

One of the most important breakthroughs in my own development was realizing that people learn music in fundamentally different ways. Some need to see relationships on the page. Some need to hear ideas in context. Some need to feel concepts physically through repetition and sensation. Most of us need a thoughtful combination of all three. My work as an educator has focused on designing methods that respect these differences rather than forcing everyone through a single narrow approach.

 

That philosophy has guided my teaching across many settings, including universities, professional organizations, and community programs. I’ve taught and presented at institutions such as University of Michigan, the University of Utah, The Ohio State University, and in partnership with organizations like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Motown Museum. In each environment, the pattern was consistent: the most meaningful learning often happened outside of formal lectures.

 

Students regularly told me that the real “aha” moments came after class, during informal conversations about process, technique, discipline, creativity, and the realities of building a musical life. Those conversations were honest, practical, and human. They addressed the questions musicians actually carry but rarely feel safe asking in public.

 

Office Hours was created to make that kind of learning accessible.

 

This platform is built around the idea that clarity changes everything. When musicians understand why something works, not just what to practice, their confidence grows. Their practice becomes more efficient. Their relationship to the music becomes healthier and more sustainable. Office Hours brings together structured learning pathways, detailed handouts, pre-recorded lessons, and real-world workflows designed to support that kind of understanding.

 

I also lean heavily into technology, not as a shortcut, but as a tool for reducing friction. Modern musicians juggle creative work, teaching, performing, recording, and learning. The materials here are designed to meet you in that reality, offering flexible, self-paced resources you can return to as your needs evolve.

 

Alongside my work as an educator, I’m an active professional musician, trumpeter, composer, and arranger. My performance and arranging work has contributed to multiple GRAMMY-nominated projects, including work on GRAMMY Award–winning recordings. That professional life informs everything here, not as a badge of status, but as a grounding force. The goal has always been the same: to understand the music deeply enough to move freely within it and to help others do the same.

 

Office Hours is not about shortcuts or quick fixes. It’s about building understanding that lasts. It’s for musicians who are curious, thoughtful, and committed to growth, whether they’re just beginning or returning to the fundamentals with fresh perspective.

 

If you’ve ever felt like you cared deeply about music but weren’t quite given the tools to make sense of it, you’re not alone. Office Hours exists to provide clear explanations, usable frameworks, and a more grounded way of learning music.